Gary The Snail-Keeping A Garden Snail for a Pet

Hi all! The weather here is fickle. Beautiful one day and raining the next.  We had about 2 weeks of rain, and then we were teased with a few nice and sunny days.  Despite my displeasure over the weather, it has been treating our garden pretty well. Our garden beds are thriving!

One of the things you may be dealing with is garden pests. Among the many annoyances one encounters in a garden is a snail. If a snail population is not kept down, they can wipe out leafy green plants like lettuce. Some people suggest squishing a snail if you find one in your garden. We got a little creative instead.

Snails are actually kind of cute if you don't mind the slime. A garden snail can be a fun little pet to teach your kids about. We keep our own little snail for our son Toby to watch. A typical garden snail can be kept comfortably in a large jar or small aquarium. Sprinkle a layer of soil on the bottom for the snail to dig in and lay eggs. Collect a few small twigs, rocks, etc. to create hiding places for the shy snails. Remember to keep the soil damp and moist. Dry conditions will dry a snail out very quickly. I use a squirt gun, sippy cup, or turkey baster to moisten ours a few days a week.

Snails enjoy leafy greens to eat. You can use lettuce, salad mixes, or other edible plants. You can also feed them veggie peels. I change our snail's food every other day to prevent it from rotting. Snails need calcium to keep their shells strong. You can use a cuttlebone for birds or use eggshells. I just use eggshells since I already crush them for our chickens. The snails won't need much. You can find my tutorial here. Be sure to wipe the interior of the jar occasionally to get rid of unsightly droppings.

There is no need to worry about male or female snails as snails are hermaphrodites. They can lay fertile eggs without mates. I hope to see some tiny snails in ours soon.

Thanks for reading.